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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · date · vault · deal · capital · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kid — child
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stock — goods
  12. date — the fruit
  13. stock — shares
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — a safe
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com